Orange Caramel, Lee Hong-ki to release books

Orange Caramel, a subunit of girl group After School, and FT ISLAND frontman Lee Hong-ki have expanded their interests beyond showbiz and released books on travel and nail art, respectively. According to Pledis Entertainment, the agency of Orange Caramel, the members ― Raina, Nana and Lizzy ― have released a book, “Cheongchun Yeohaeng (Travel of the Youth),” about their recent trips around Korea. They took a day trip in central Seoul, checked out famous restaurants in the historic city of Jeonju

June 25, 2013

Charles Dutoit’s Royal Philharmonic to perform evanescent French music

Under legendary conductors such as Andre Previn, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Daniele Gatti, the internationally acclaimed Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has developed the power to highlight the smallest details, even in the most complicated pieces. On Saturday and Sunday, classical music lovers in Seoul will be treated to the orchestra’s interpretation of works by French composers such as Debussy, Ravel and Berlioz as well as Chopin, Mendelssohn and Weber, under the baton of Charles Dutoit.“Dutoit is c

June 25, 2013

Korean art gallery opens in Cleveland

A new gallery dedicated to Korean art in Cleveland, Ohio, will be a boost for the promotion of Korean art in the U.S. mid-west, the Korea Foundation said Tuesday. Cleveland Museum of Art’s Korea Foundation Gallery, which is set to officially open on Wednesday, has on display a total of 75 pieces of Korean art, ranging from Buddhist paintings and statues to fine arts and ceramics, in a 130 square-meter space.  Among the exhibited items is a painting of a type of Buddhist monk called Arahan during

June 25, 2013

Ancient Asian art of origami gains following in West

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Hundreds gathered in New York over the weekend for a convention celebrating origami, the ancient Asian art of paper folding, as the craft gains increasing recognition as serious art in the West.Animals, shapes, landscapes and spaceships constructed with astonishing intricacy were on display at OrigamiUSA, all fashioned entirely from uncut paper squares and without a drop of glue.“We say the universe is flat and is contained in a square piece of paper. With paper you can do every

June 25, 2013

Roy Kim unveils first full album ‘Love Love Love’

“Superstar K4” winner Roy Kim, a.k.a. Kim Sang-woo, unveiled his first studio album “Love Love Love” during a showcase at the IFC Mall in Seoul on Tuesday. The singer-songwriter wrote every song on his new folk/pop album that consists of nine tracks, including lead track “Love Love Love” as well as previous hit “Spring Spring Spring.” Compared to his earlier releases, this new album truly represents the music and sound that he has always wanted to pursue, Kim claimed. “This is the style of music

June 25, 2013

Blueprints behind Miyazaki’s magic

The plain two-dimensional animation images created by Japanese animation film director Hayao Miyazaki have continued to fascinate viewers even after the arrival of the dazzling three-dimensional images by major studios. It might be the scene in which the young witch Kiki leaves her home to explore the world in “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” or Totoro waiting at a bus stop holding a small umbrella that barely covers his head that brought up nostalgia in viewers who have fond memories of growing up wa

June 24, 2013

Soprano talks of her ‘sabbatical’ from opera

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Her character Antonia literally sings herself to death in Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann,” but in real life Natalie Dessay says her own upcoming break from opera is not so irrevocable.“I’m going to take a sabbatical, and then we’ll see,” the French soprano said in an interview. “The truth is my repertoire is shrinking. I’m not a young woman anymore, so I don’t feel adequate for roles where I’m the girl in love for the first time. I don’t want to eternally redo Lucia or O

June 24, 2013

‘Who Is Next?’ YG to debut new boy band via reality TV competition

Which new boy band in the making has what it takes to become the next Big Bang? YG Entertainment founder and CEO Yang Hyun-suk has decided to leave that decision up to the fans.Yang announced over the weekend that he would be launching a new reality TV show, “WIN,” to determine which one of his current boy bands in training will make their debut. “WIN,” which stands for “Who Is Next?” will feature two rival groups waiting to debut in a winner-takes-all talent competition. The boy band that recei

June 24, 2013

Gustavo Dudamel is bowled over by the Bowl

In the history of music, certain artists always will be twined with certain venues: Charlie Parker and Birdland, the Apollo Theater and Ella Fitzgerald, James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera House.The number of performers who’ve played the Hollywood Bowl is so long and venerable that no single name could dominate its legacy, not even that of the Fab Four. But over the last eight years, since he made his Bowl debut as a 24-year-old conducting Silvestre Revueltas’ “La Noche de los Mayas” and Tch

June 23, 2013

Dancing toward respect and fame

The man said he would show some moves. In a blink of an eye, his body spun a couple of times with just his hands touching the floor. Thanks to his relatively long legs ― and taekwondo training in his early teens ― the spins performed by break dancer VERO are larger and more dramatic than average Korean b-boys, but somehow lighter and very well controlled. With his signature spins, the 27-year-old dancer became a household name in the b-boy circle. VERO, whose real name is Jang Ji-kwang, won the

June 23, 2013

Eyelike:

Tyrell pays tribute to Cahn on new albumSteve Tyrell“It‘s Magic: The Songs of Sammy Cahn”(Concord)Late blooming crooner Steve Tyrell burnishes his reputation as one of the finest interpreters of the Great American Songbook with this tribute marking the centennial of the birth of Sammy Cahn, the lyricist who gave voice to Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack in the early 1960s.Tyrell’s rough-hewn baritone - with the slight twang of his native Texas - gives him the swagger to put his own stamp on such C

June 21, 2013

Festival set to embrace college orchestras

Members of Hanyang Philharmonic Orchestra gathered at the college Wednesday afternoon for practice ahead of the upcoming University Orchestra Festival. About 100 musicians practiced Beethoven’s “Egmont Overture, Op.84” and Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 “The Choral,” for which words were taken from “Ode an die Freude (Ode to Joy),” a poem by Friedrich Schiller.The members comprised of Hanyang University students have been practicing intensively for the past two weeks for the festival that ru

June 20, 2013

Young Chinese artists portray reality of new generation

Young Chinese artists born in the 1970s and 1980s are often viewed as less politically engaged than their predecessors who experienced major political events such as the Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square. Although their works may seem to focus more on their emotions and feelings than their predecessors’ politically oriented art, their works are grounded in reality and bound to the problems the new generation faces. “There are more works that are embedded with artists’ personal opinion on

June 20, 2013

‘K-pop Star’ seeks hopefuls to repeat success of alumni

A new round of auditions have begun to find the country’s next K-pop superstar for the upcoming third season of the popular SBS singing audition program “Survival Audition K-pop Star.” This year’s show will also host international auditions in the U.S. in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago, as well as accepting global YouTube auditions.  “K-pop Star” is a singing battle program that is judged by representatives from the nation’s top three agencies ― SM, YG and JYP Entertainment. The showed aired i

June 20, 2013

Kang Seung-yoon to release first album

Kang Seung-yoon, a contestant of “Super Star K” season 2, will make an official debut next month, his agency said.YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk said on the company blog that one of the songs “Wild and Young,” included in Kang’s EP album, will be pre-released on July 15.“We‘ve nearly finished producing his album, comprised of six songs,” he said. “Kang and producers are deciding on the album release date.” He added, “I think ‘Wild and Young,’ which falls into rock genre, goes well with Kang‘

June 20, 2013

Bulhandang has something to believe in

It’s been a long time coming for hip-hop crew Bulhandang. While the crew technically formed last year, the group has been working on its latest album, released June 12, for about three years. But just sticking together is a feat, considering the group is made up of 21 rappers, DJs and producers ― most of whom have been in Korean hip-hop since its start.“We’ve known each other for over eight to 15 years,” said rapper MC Meta in an interview with The Korea Herald last week. MC Meta is currently fe

June 19, 2013

Lee Hyori sports mustache in new music video

Singer Lee Hyori has attempted to play with her image a bit in the music video for “Going Crazy,” from her fifth album “Monochrome.”The music video, unveiled Wednesday, features a male version of Lee, looking very handsome with a mustache and dressed head to toe in a man’s outfit. Having transformed herself into a “Miss Korea” and then a “Bad Girl,” now she appears as a bad boy flirting with a handful of pinup girls who are the actual candidates from modeling-based reality show “Korea’s Next Top

June 19, 2013

The silent power of familiar landscapes

Just as many people wish to escape from the usual routine and travel to remote places, many artists travel far in search of inspiration and a new style. But for artist Roh Choong-hyun, the place where he lives is what motivates him to paint. Since 2005, the artist has focused on portraying what most people would find mundane and familiar ― landscapes of the capital city of Seoul ― for his series “Prosaic Landscape.” “I have always wanted to paint the Hangang River Park where I often go for walks

June 18, 2013